Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) Stock Price

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Piper Sandler from $50.00 to $48.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer's stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on OXY. Stephens dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $54.19.

Occidental Petroleum Price Performance

NYSE:OXY traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $40.38. 6,406,140 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,890,456. The stock's 50-day moving average is $44.74 and its 200-day moving average is $48.11. Occidental Petroleum has a twelve month low of $34.79 and a twelve month high of $68.43. The firm has a market cap of $37.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.13. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.33%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Occidental Petroleum's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Occidental Petroleum's dividend payout ratio is 39.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Occidental Petroleum news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 763,017 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.82 per share, for a total transaction of $35,724,455.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 264,941,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,404,557,799.42. This represents a 0.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 129.2% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 722 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The company's Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas.